


You can lean on me

by S6a



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Anxiety, Danny isn't ranting much, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Field Trip, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Oblivious Steve McGarrett, Protective Steve McGarrett
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29616687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S6a/pseuds/S6a
Summary: “No, no fucking way, I refuse to get in there,” he waves to the bus. "You can deal with the governor. I'm not the one who put this idea in his head in the first place."In order to save costs, the governor has arranged the cheapest means of transport for some bonding time between HPD and Five-O (represented by Danny, Junior, and Steve)Spoiler: There are not enough seats left for them (Danny)
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 5
Kudos: 122
Collections: McDanno26





	You can lean on me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I spent most of the time thinking about a plausible reason for the boys to use a bus. And I know that Danny is a little bit out of character but it has a reason and I hope you don't mind. And it is still them.

Danny takes one look at the overloaded vehicle and shakes his head.

“No,” he says flatly even as his luggage is being loaded onto the bus. “No, no fucking way, I refuse to get in there,” he waves to the bus. "You can deal with the governor. I'm not the one who put this idea in his head."

To save costs, the governor has arranged the cheapest means of transport for some bonding time between HPD and Five-O (since their crossing each other in every case). Of course, it was Steve's fault that Denning suggests it is the first place. 

Danny couldn't help but get flashbacks to the couple resort he had to attend with Steve because the governor ordered them to therapy years ago. And the idiot had to get them in therapy for real couples.

Now another weekend goes waste. A weekend where he has to attend seminars with his crazy partner and his Baby SEAL plus unknown HPD colleagues who don't like him. Yeah, that's the idea. No Luke or someone else they work with almost every day and only half of the taskforce team since criminals never sleep or go on vacations.

Steve can understand his partner's annoyance; even from outside, he can tell that the bus is packed, and Danny doesn’t like strangers touching him on a good day. These may be their colleagues, but they do not know them, and Danny looks like he’d rather walk to their destination than get on that bus.

“It’s not that long a trip, Sir. An hour tops. You’ll be fine,” says Junior. It might be more convincing had he not been wrinkling his nose as he said it. He’s not looking forward to this, either.

"I’ll be fine because I’m not getting on that thing.” Danny still sounds certain. “You couldn’t pay me enough. I rather drive with this crazy man risking multiple near-death experiences than driving with this thing. That's how serious I'm.”

“You don’t have a choice, Danno.” Steve settles a hand between Danny's shoulder blades.

“Junior’s right, it won’t be long at all. Anybody says a word to you, I’ll knock their teeth down their throat.”

It’s matter-of-fact, and Danny blinks at him, but there’s a hint of a smile there where there wasn’t before. “Really?” he asks, his eyes narrowed and suspicious.

“Yes,” Steve answers aloud. “Really.”

Danny’s mouth turns down at the corner, and he looks ready to challenge Steve again, that sparkle in his eye like he gets in the case sometimes when he’s getting the piece of the puzzle together when Junoir interrupts with a yawn.

“Sirs,” he says, blinking owlishly, “I don't like to interrupt but it’s seven in the morning and the bus is waiting for us.”

Danny grumbles but follows Junior and Steve onto the bus. It's really a pity that Junior interrupted them. Steve really has looked forward to a full rant on how it would show that Steve is really a neanderthal and that's not the way how adults or police officers deal with or a five-minute lecture on why Danny isn't a damsel in distress.

Steve does a quick scan of the occupied space, and the only empty seats he comes up with are two right next to each other in the very back. They’re still surrounded by people. He glances behind him at Danny, his eyebrows pulled together, mouth set in a scowl.

“Think I’ll stand,” Danny mutters.

“You sure?” Steve asks, keeping his voice quiet. One officer from HPD is glaring at them (more at Danny), and Steve glares right back until he turns to look out the window.

“I don’t mind standing.” Steve can hear Danny swallow. “I’d really, I’d rather stand. I don’t like—“ He cuts himself off, but Steve understands nonetheless, and shrugs.“Your call,” he says. He takes one of the two seats and Junior plops into the one next to him after he double-checks with Danny and receives the same answer Steve had.

Junior promptly settles his head onto Steve’s shoulder and falls asleep. Steve sighs and rolls his eyes at Danny, who gives him a half-smile where he’s leaning against the pole he’s claimed as his own.

“Guess he must be really tired,” Danny comments, quietly enough that the only person who should be able to hear him is Steve. There are other people around them but most of them are either dozing or reading.

“Nah, he—“ Steve pauses as the bus rumbles to life, the driver starting forward on the hour-long journey they’re about to undertake. Danny’s hands clench on the pole until the bus gets up to speed and levels out. He hooks his arm around the pole and if Steve hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought Danny was the picture of casual boredom. It’s only that Steve knows him so well that makes him note the way Danny’s fingertips have gone white as they clinch on the cuff of his jacket, the way Danny’s jaw is clenched just so.

“He didn’t sleep too well last night,” Steve finishes. Junior still lives with him and he could hear him in the night, wandering around the house. “Not surprised he’s tired this morning.” Danny frowns. This is something they have in common, always: worrying about the kids. If there’s anything guaranteed to distract Danny, it’s giving him something else to worry over.

"Do you think it's something about his father?", Danny presses. He glances from Steve to Junior, frowns more deeply, and then looks back to Steve. “Not really,” admits Steve. “Might just be nerves, you know. The first time without Tani. Might be something else. He’ll tell us if we need to know.”

“How do you do that?” Danny asks suddenly, his frown turning to Steve. “Do what?” Steve frowns back, honestly bewildered.

“Just, just say shit like that. ‘He’ll tell us if we need to know.’ How do you know that? Man can’t even pick out jeans that fit him, what makes you think he’ll tell us if something’s wrong?”

Steve very nearly laughs but settles for quirking an eyebrow and smiling at him. “I trust him,” he says simply.

Danny snorts and looks ready to say something else before he stops himself. He’s still frowning, but it’s thoughtful now, and he falls silent while Steve looks out the window.

Half an hour goes by without a word from either of them, though the rest of the bus gets progressively louder as everybody begins to wake up.

All people are from HPD so, even if they’re not friends with everybody, everybody’s at least linked in some way or another, so most find it easy enough to have a conversation with the people around them. Well, except for Five-O, of course. Steve smiles to himself. They stick to each other and that’s about it. His Ohana.

With the elevated noise returns Danny’s white-knuckled grip on the pole, his face set in a determined scowl that would deter anybody from speaking to him even if they’d wanted to. His head’s ducked low and he’s glaring at the ground, and as Steve watches, the fingers of one hand tap against his thumb in a pattern; pinky, ring, middle, index, pinky, ring, middle, index.

Steve watches him wind himself tightly until he swears if Danny clenches his hands into fists any harder his tendons are going to snap. He reaches out without thinking and closes his own hand around Danny’s, his fingertips curving around to rest against Danny’s pulse, thump-thump-thumping erratically. Danny tenses even more at first then relax. Just a little, but it’s something.

“You okay?” Steve asks, still looking out the window. It’s a stupid question; Danny’s clearly not okay, but he doesn’t know what else to ask.

Danny coughs, shrugs, his fingertips tap against the pole in the same pattern as they’d been tapping against his thumb.

There isn't a response. The Navy SEAL sighs, “Hey,” he whispers, tugging at Danny’s wrist. He’s not bothering to look out the window now, instead of keeping his eye on the way Danny’s paler than he usually is and he’s sweating even though it’s fairly cold on the bus.

“What?” Danny coughs again but shuffles his feet forward.

“Turn around,” Steve says, and it says a lot about them when even as Danny is frowning at him, he does it, shifting himself around the pole enough that his back’s to Steve and looking over his shoulder to keep an eye on him.

“What’re you doing?” Danny asks suspiciously. At least that’s what Steve assumes he was going to say. He only manages to say “What’re you—“ and then squawk when Steve tucks three fingers into the back of his jeans and yanks him back and down until he’s sat firmly on **Steve’s** lap.

“What are you doing, you animal?” he hisses, already trying to stand up again. Steve sets a hand on Danny’s hip, not nearly enough pressure to keep him there if he doesn’t want to be, and Danny stops squirming.

“What are you doing?” he asks again, in a more normal tone, though his shoulders are still locked tight.

“Calming you down,” Steve says, keeping half an eye on where Junior is still dozing against his shoulder while he balances Danny. This is his team. These are his boys and watching Danny get progressively antsier standing there had given him a surge of emotion that he didn’t want to ignore.

Sure, there’s probably about fifteen minutes left in the bus ride, and Danny could’ve done it, of that Steve has no doubt, but he shouldn’t have to.

He’s responsible for them, just like they’re responsible for him, and if there’s any way he can help then he’s going to do it. Whatever they might need.

Although he doubts that he would put the others who aren't Danny into his lap if it isn't for an undercover operation. A mental picture of Lou on his lap comes to his mind and Steve cringes. 

Danny sighs heavily and ran a hand over his face.

“Shit, Steve. You don’t have to, is not your fucking problem.”

“I have to help you,” Steve says. “Because I love you.”

“Man,” Danny breathes, voice hitching. “I love you too. I just mean — I’m a grown fucking man. I can stand an hour," says Danny, but he doesn’t try to stand back up again. "It's embarrassing we are in public," the blond complains but gropes down his side until he finds Steve’s hand on his hip, and squeezes it.

Their hands are hidden down between them and the side of the bus, and even if they weren’t, nobody’s looking at them. The bus is too crowded for anybody to pay attention to them in the back.

“I know but no one pays attention anyway,” Steve says.

That earns Steve a snort. "Well, they should otherwise they'd bad cops."

Danny always has the right words to say when a case goes wrong, or when Steve wakes up with nightmares, or when Steve’s being an asshole to everyone in hearing range.

Steve’s not like that. He doesn’t know how to tell Danny that he’s fucking perfect, that he’s better than any goddamn human Steve’s ever known and it doesn’t matter if he has anxieties or feels uncomfortable when it's a real matter. Not like when he complaints about the beaches with the sand that goes anywhere.

Danny clears his throat. “I am fine, really”, he murmurs, as he relaxes, his back pressing against Steve’s chest.

What he knows is that Danny is not fine. Otherwise, he would be ranting about everything that comes to his mind or simply more about this trip. Don't get them front Danny complained yesterday and the days before for hours on each day.

Steve slides his fingers between Danny’s, and Danny still doesn’t move away. He’s still tense, but it’s not as obvious as it was when he was standing, and from what Steve can see at this angle, he’s not as pale as he was.

It’s not something he’d normally let himself do and Danny knows it. Too many goddamn years in the Navy, watching every thought. It’s a statement, something Steve doesn’t know how to say in words.

Steve wonders what this would look like to everybody else on the bus, but he doesn’t care, really.

They just do this trip to humor the governor but Steve will talk to a few officers during the seminars or work with them on a task. Steve appreciates their work but in the end, Danny and his ohana are the ones he wants to work with except if he would want to challenge Danny to annoy him then he'd need another team.

Again a ranting Danny is a thing of beauty. It's entertaining to watch those hands moving, and Steve enjoyed the way Danny's eyes crinkled when he got worked up.

“I know you are fine,” Steve says. He smiles and pats Danny’s side where his hand is resting. “But look it's not much time left in the ride. Might as well stay there.”

Danny sighs heavily, and Steve can tell he makes a face even without being able to see it.

“Yeah, alright,” he mutters. “You fight dirty, you know, smooth dog. At least buy me lunch later, in case you haven't forgotten your wallet,” Danny is teasing again. Their dynamic is back.

“You are one to talk. And for your information I have my wallet with me Danno,” Steve points out with a grin.

Danny laughs, which is reward enough. 


End file.
